The present invention relates to a new and distinct perennial variety of Vaccinium corymbosum hybrid (blueberry), which has been given the variety denomination of ‘C04-014.’ The new variety ‘C04-014’ was selected from a population of seedlings derived from crossing the blueberry variety known as ‘Star’ (seed parent) (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,675) and the variety known as ‘C96-97’ (pollen parent) (not patented). The cross was made in 2002 in Florida, USA and the seed was sown and grown on in Corindi Beach, NSW, Australia. The new variety was selected in 2004 from among plants located on land at Corindi Beach and has since been named ‘C04-014’. Plants of ‘C04-014’ were propagated by cuttings for further evaluation and resulted to be uniform and stable. The new variety ‘C04-014’ shows distinctive traits such as late season, strong plant vigor, medium to large fruit of good flavor, firm fruit. The new variety ‘C04-014’ is intended for use as fresh fruit for shipping, customer pick and processing markets and as a home garden plant.
The new blueberry cultivar is a selection resulting from seedlings produced in a controlled breeding programme of Vaccinium varieties in Florida, USA in 2002 from a cross of the blueberry variety known as ‘Star’ (seed parent) (unpatented) and the blueberry variety known as ‘C96-97’ (pollen parent) (unpatented). The seed from the cross was sown and grown in Corindi Beach, New South Wales, Australia. The new cultivar was discovered and selected in 2004 as a single plant within a population of seedlings resulted from the controlled cross, in an experimental block in the field at Corindi Beach, New South Wales, Australia, and has since been named ‘C04-014.’ Selection criteria were a combination of late season, strong plant vigor, medium to large fruit of good flavor and firm fruit. The new variety was subsequently evaluated for a number of years at the commercial farm at Corindi Beach, New South Wales, Australia.
Asexual reproduction of the new variety ‘C04-014’ by softwood cutting propagation since 2004 at Corindi Beach, New South Wales, Australia has demonstrated that the new variety reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation, with the clones phenotypically identical to the original plant.
The seed parent ‘Star’ is characterized by an upright growth habit and early to medium timing of ripening or fruiting. The pollen parent ‘C96-97’ is characterized by a weak to medium plant growth vigor and firm fruit. The new variety differs from the seed parent ‘Star’ in that ‘C04-014’ has later fruiting season. The new variety differs from the pollen parent ‘C96-97’ in that ‘C04-014’ has stronger plant vigor. The new variety ‘C04-014’ has maintained its distinguished characteristics throughout successive asexual propagation.